Well, maybe if you had broken sharply from the conservative frame, millions of Americans would have risen up and said, “No! We do not have to make ‘tough choices’. America cannot go broke. The US government can always AFFORD to make good on its promises to the elderly, disabled, poor, etc. and also pay bondholders. It is the ISSUER of a non-convertible fiat currency, not the USER of a stateless currency like Greece, Italy, etc.” You never explained any of this honestly. You hedged and gave ground, saying things like, “Well, yes, the deficit is going to be a problem in the medium or long run, but we should focus on employment right now.” Don’t you see what a losing argument that is?

It’s like saying, “I know we need to go on a diet, but first we need to go out an buy a bigger pair of pants.”

No wonder progressives are losing! You’re allowing the GOP to frame the debate instead of re-framing it for a progressive audience.

You, Dean Baker, Robert Reich, Larry Mishel, etc. should have spoken honestly about the debt, deficit, Social Security, etc. from the beginning.

D.C.’s outgoing mayor and his schools chancellor used education reform as something to do to black people instead of with black people. Reform advocates around the country should be taking notes. This is a local story with national implications.

First WEAVE, now House of Ruth: Another nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence is in financial straits, thanks to a reduction in District government support. Writes Susan Kinzie in WaPo: ‘Christel Nichols, president of the House of Ruth, said she received an e-mail Monday alerting her that the agency would not get nearly half a million dollars in anticipated funding from the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which lost money when the city’s Department of Human Services budget was reduced….Nichols said she will ask donors to fill the sudden funding gap, but she is not confident they will be able to close it in this economy. The agency might opt to scale back programs at one of its 13 sites in the city.’ Says Nichols: ‘This is the absolute worst. Even in the darkest days with the control board and the city [budget] being a disaster, we never faced anything to this degree.’

This immediate result will be more of these women will be killed by their husbands or boyfriends. The long term result is that the pattern of violence is far more likely to be handed down another generation. This may be the worst thing Fenty has done.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee could try to declare the city’s school system a federal “state of emergency,” according to the Washington Post. Congress would have to pass the legislation.

What is the emergency, other than City Council won’t go along with Fenty’s farce?